Monthly Archives: December 2013

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Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope your evening is filled with lots of glitter and delicious snacks- that’s my favorite part of this holiday. Actually, that’s my favorite part of every day. I don’t have big plans, but that is okay with me! I’ll probably watch the Aggies BTHO Duke in the Chick Fil A Bowl and hang out with my bestie!

Of course, when everyone thinks of the New Year, they think of New Year’s Resolutions. They also think that they will be broken in about a week, and they’re usually correct. I’m not very good with resolutions myself, I usually lose focus or get bored, convince myself it’s not very important, and end up giving up after about a few days. This year however, I’ve decided to take a different approach. I was inspired by Zelle from A Southern Style to do 101 in 1001: a list of 101 goals/challenges to be completed in 1,001 days!

I like this approach because it seems more feasible since it’s long-term. Also, I like that there are specific goals rather than vague ones- I think it’s easier to take big projects one step at a time! I’ll share my list with you here, and I’ve made a tab at the top of the page to update every now and then! I hope you’ll consider doing this as we start the new year!

My 1001 days started December 27, 2013, and will end September 23, 2016.(I will have been out of college for over a year…TERRIFYING) I included some guaranteed goals such as getting my Aggie ring and graduating, but some are a bit loftier, such as financial goals. However, I hope that this list as a whole will help me to achieve things I want (and need!) to achieve, and help me grow in numerous aspects.

Here’s my list:

1. Get a 4.0 (one semester)

2. Go to New York

3. Read the entire Bible

4. Get a job

5. Get a real job OR get into law school

6. Buy Tory Burch flats

7. Provide a meal for someone in need

8. Publish something

9. Travel somewhere new

10. Make 15 new Pinterest recipes

11. Get 1,000 blog followers

12. Get a sponsor for my blog

13. Host a fundraiser for a nonprofit

14. Graduate from Texas A&M

15. Get a kitten

16. Go to the gym regularly for two months.

17. Make a donation to Texas A&M

18. Tithe regularly

19. Live off the 10-10-80 plan

20. Get my own apartment where I pay my rent.

21. Buy something really nice for my parents

22. Host a dinner party

23. Finish decorating my school apartment

24. Make dinner for Todd & Kate

25. Crochet an afghan

26. Clean my parent’s entire house for them

27. Buy a suit

28. Blog every day for a month (minus weekends)

29. Clean out my makeup bag 12/30/2013

30. Buy a KitchenAid mixer

31. Deep clean my room at home

32. Read “Love Does” by Bob Goff

33. Give “The Case for Christ” to someone who could use it.

34. Go 24 hours without complaining.

35. Once I have a job, go 1 month without buying something unnecessary for myself, and save the money instead.

36. Go on a trip with Kinsey

37. Audition for a theatrical production

38. Start & keep up with a prayer journal

39. Start & keep up with a “Line a day” calendar for 1 year

40. Get a plant & not kill it

41. Print off my favorite pictures to display

42. Clean out my jewelry/clothes/shoes collection

43. Read 20 books

44. Turn my blog into a personal brand

45. Save $1 for every goal completed

46. Make my t-shirt quilt with high school tees

47. Stay off social media for one week straight

48. Go paleo for 1 month

49. Join at least 1 pre-professional organization.

50. Finish this list 12/29/2013

51. Learn to prepare vegetables in a way I actually like

52. Learn a lifetime fitness activity

53. Get my Starbucks Gold Card (and maintain it)

54. Get a career-boosting internship

55. Tell someone about Jesus

56. Make a new friend in every new class

57. Go to Washington, D.C. again

58. Volunteer at Children’s Medical Center

59. Learn more about my heart defect

60. Give a speech in public

61. Grow my hair long enough to donate

62. Memorize a Bible verse a week for a year

63. Interview/apply for a job in another state

64. Get a “big-girl” purse

65. Bring a real, live boy to at least one date function per semester

66. Hold a successful conversation in Spanish

67. Rip reindeer antlers off a random vehicle

68. Leave an interview actually feeling confident

69. Be able to intelligently discuss current events

70. Take the LSAT

71. Save & maintain at least $500 in my savings account

72. Get my Aggie ring

73. Go to an away Aggie football game

74. Make a plastic bag basket

75. Make a “Pinterest Successes” board on Pinterest

76. Write at least 1 teacher per semester a thank-you note

77. Invest in 2 more good cookbooks

78. Use my crockpot once a month (while at school)

79. Introduce myself to each one of my professors

80. Buy new music for iTunes

81. Take the Floral Design class (for fun)

82. Organize my craft box so it’s not such a mess

83. Clean out my bookshelf

84. Try 3 new College Station restaurants

85. Participate in a philanthropy 5k (GlOW, Kappa Kolor)

86. Find maroon jeans that fit

87. Keep my part of the fridge clean

88. Be done with Candy Crush (either get tired of it or finish it)

89. Make a fancy brunch every finals week for my roommates/friends.

90. Give the best MOH speech of all time at my sister’s wedding

91. Bake something once a month

92. Conquer my fear of dogs

93. Find a new devotional book

94. Have more roommate dinners

95. Knit a scarf

96. Determine what my passions are

97. Paint something for inside my closet

98. Find someone who will go two-stepping with me

99. Learn to command respect rather than just attention.

100. Write down all the recipes I come up with myself

101. Reflect on how these challenges & goals have made me grow as a person over the past 1001 days.

There you go! Hopefully I can accomplish all of this in 2.75 years! I’ll try to keep the page updated so you can see how I’m doing! Who wants to give this a try with me?

Hoping you had a wonderful 2013 and looking forward to a fantastic 2014, that’s all for meow!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas with their friends and family- I know I did! Also, I didn’t really intend to take a week-long blogging break- it just kind of happened! But I’m back this week, and I’ve got a lot planned!

Today, I would like to share one of my favorite trends from fall & winter, the flannel button-down. Now, this trend is something I wouldn’t usually wear- in fact, it’s very “hipster”, and if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that the easiest way to insult me is to say I’m dressed like a hipster. However, this trend started sweeping College Station, so I decided to give it a try. It has since made its way to the realm of actual fashion, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

I will say that the “college girl version” of this trend is quite different from the “fashion blogger version”, but I love them both. Let’s start with

“The College Girl Look”

This look is definitely more casual and comfortable. As is the trend with t-shirts these days, the bigger the better (to an extent). Both of my flannels are from the men’s section- partly because of sizing, partly because of colors and availability. I like to wear mine with leggings, so I have to make sure there is sufficient coverage. I will typically wear my flannels with leggings or skinny jeans and either riding boots or Uggs, depending on the temperature and whether or not I care about what I look like. (Yes, I still wear Uggs, no I don’t really care what you think about it) Occasionally, I will wear a t-shirt underneath and leave the flannel unbuttoned, or add a chunky infinity scarf.

I wore this outfit shopping over Thanksgiving break, and it’s a classic example of the casual flannel look. My dad thinks it’s awesome that flannels are “cool”, so he bought my sister and I one for Christmas, and I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I’ve worn it three times since then- it’s December 30th. If you’re looking to wear a flannel this way, check out the men’s department at JCPenney. They’re currently on sale for $12.99!

“The Fashion Blogger Look”

This look is a bit more dressy than the “College Girl” style. In my mind, I’m picturing a fitted flannel paired with a party skirt and tights for a festive holiday look. Many of my favorite bloggers have taken this trend to the next level. Check out Grace from A Southern Drawl, Amber from King and Kind, and Emily from The Sweetest Thing. My flannel I got for Christmas is a bit more fitted, so I’m looking forward to experimenting for a more polished approach!

You may not know this about me, but one of my goals in life is to be the modern “Hostess With the Mostest”. I love entertaining and planning events, whether it’s a small dinner with my friends or a brunch for 150. I’m very particular about even the most minor details, most likely because I believe the quality of the details affect the quality of the big picture. For example, I had my cousins over for dinner this semester, and I set out sombreros and used our most fiesta-like dishes because I was serving enchiladas- let’s be real, they’re 18 year old boys living off of dining hall food- they probably wouldn’t have noticed if I had used styrofoam plates and plastic sporks. But I believe that when you take the time to make an effort and make things a little fancier than usual, it shows your guests that they are important to you and that you’re glad they came.

When my sister asked me to be her MOH, one thing I was super excited about was planning the bachelorette party. Not because it was going to be wild, but because I knew it would take some actual planning and creativity- remember, this is one reason I used to justify buying the big Lilly agenda. Well, when the time came to send invitations, I was faced with a big decision- paper or online? I wanted to send them via snail mail, but time constraints prevented that (my bad). I was hesitant to send invites via email, because I’ve received some that were a little…unimpressive. And after all, doesn’t the first impression you have of an event come from the invitation? However, my sister had raved about Paperless Post, so when I was home for Thanksgiving we logged on and all of my preconceived notions about e-vites were shattered.

I was very impressed by the selection and variety of invitations Paperless Post had to offer. There are so many options for every occasion, including designer options such as kate spade new york, Jonathan Adler, and Oscar de la Renta. There are a plethora of free options for party planners on a tight budget, but if you find a design that isn’t free, it actually isn’t that expensive! You can buy and earn coins, each worth about 20 cents, and most cards range from 2-5 coins, and extras such as fancy envelopes, liners, and stamps are 1-3 extra coins each.

We settled on this fun, glamorous card from kate spade new york:

Next, we typed in the details and chose the envelope, liner, and stamp, which could not have been easier! Then we entered in the email addresses of all the guests, and they were off! The site also makes it easy to keep up with who has RSVP’d and received the invitations, which was quite helpful!

Paperless Post is a wonderful service for the modern-day “Hostess with the Mostest”. It’s simple and inexpensive, but also quite impressive! I will definitely be using it the next time I throw together a soiree.

It’s already Wednesday again? I feel like I just did last week’s Wednesday post…I guess time flies when you’re not going to school every day. Speaking of, I forgot how much I love blogging every day! It’s so nice to finally have time to actually put together a well thought-out post- I feel like when I’m at school I just throw things together! Hopefully I will have more time next semester to blog more regularly- but no promises.

This week, I’ve been fairly dormant on Pinterest. It’s not that I haven’t been on, it’s just that many of the people I follow pin things that I have no interest in re-pinning, such as wedding ideas or baby stuff. Also, none of those people are getting married nor having babies (to my knowledge), and you all know how I feel about that. Annoyed. Anyways, I was able to gather a few good ideas this week that I would love to share with you!

First is this gold-striped refrigerator from Rachel Schultz. I mean, how cute is this? I’m dying to do this to a fridge one day- not the one I have now, it’s black and belongs to my landlord. And it’s just duct tape! I’m dying. I’ll definitely have to do this when I live in a flat in NYC with my bestie Kinsey. Also, check out Rachel’s blog and her multitude of mouthwatering recipes- I want to make everything.

Next is this recipe for Oven-Fried Pickle Chips from Skinnytaste. Let me tell you a little about myself. Early on in the semester, my roommate introduced me to fried pickles from Chicken Express- so delicious, but so greasy and unhealthy. Unfortunately, there is a Chicken E basically in the same parking lot of our townhome, so they were constantly taunting me. Well, I often gave in, driving through on my way home after school, or on my way out of town. Perhaps this recipe will help me get my fix without all the grease! I’m definitely looking forward to trying it soon!

Next is this festive, sparkly mani from Nordstrom’s Instagram. While I’m not sure I could make this happen for myself, it would be a lovely option for holiday parties! I also love that both of the colors are glitter, and it’s not just an accent.

Last but certainly not least is this photo of Kristin Wiig in Bridesmaids. One of my favorite movies, and this is one of my favorite scenes. My friends and I constantly say this to each other, and it’s hilarious. If you haven’t watched this, do it over Christmas break- you will die.

As I was writing this, my computer kind of started falling apart at the hinges- not a joke. So hopefully I can get that under control and get back to blogging soon!

Now, I know Kate Spade Saturday isn’t necessarily a new thing, but I’ve just recently become obsessed with it. I perused the site when it first opened, but everything seemed a little too casual for me. However, my sister told me to give her some gift ideas from the kate spade new york site last week, and I wandered over to Saturday, just to check it out again. I’m so glad I did- they have the cutest, well, everything! I’m in love with the products- they have a unique level of simplicity that’s really fun and versatile, I’m dying to have basically all of it.

I love this Confetti Necklace in Beetle Iridescent. This would be the perfect way to dress up a chambray or a solid tee! I also love it in gold as well.

This simple Skinny Rectangle Bracelet is the perfect dainty piece to pile on to your stacked wrist, or to wear alone if you’re a one bracelet kind of girl. It comes in a variety of colors, but my favorite is the black because it goes with everything!

The instant I saw these Cube Earrings, I knew I had to have them, and once I come into some Christmas funds, they will be mine. In high school, I had the CUTEST clear cube earrings that I was obsessed with. I wore them every day, referred to them as my “Ice Cubes”, and received countless compliments on them. One day after cheer practice, I was looking for them in my monster-sized cheer bag, and only found one. I searched high and low, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. It was so sad. Like the time Regina told Gretchen that hoops were her thing.

Now, if I continued to show my favorites from every category, this would be the never-ending blog post, and no one wants that. So I’ll just leave the rest for you to check out yourself- handbags, clothing, housewares…there’s so many wonderful things!

One other awesome thing about Saturday is their points program. By signing up for their emails, you can earn points towards really awesome free items by adding them to your “Favorites”, sharing on social media, inviting friends to do the same, and by making a purchase. I love free stuff, so I’m all over that! Look for my Saturday’s Five Favorites on Twitter and Pinterest every day to see what else I love!

One of my favorite things about winter is wearing scarves, partially because of the warmth factor, but mostly because of the added interest they lend to any outfit. From chunky knitted infinity scarves, to thin, patterned linen squares, the possibilities are endless! My favorite type of scarf, however, is a Pashmina. Pashmina is a type of fabric made of fine cashmere wool from the pashmina goat (consider this your educational fact of the day- you’re welcome.), and they are SO soft and luxe. I’m mildly obsessed, if you can’t tell. As a matter of fact, my friend Sarah was wearing a super cute outfit complete with a gray pashmina at church a few weeks ago, and before thinking about how it sounded I said, “I LOVE your scarf, now I have to go find a gray pashmina to add to my collection- I have a passion for pashminas.” Luckily, she knows I’m a little strange, so she wasn’t too fazed by my gushing, but it could have been bad. But really, how can you not love these silky shawls? They’re cozy, luxurious, and come in every color under the rainbow (and even patterns)! It’s my dream to have one large enough to wrap myself in and doze off.

I have a few pashminas in a variety of colors, and they have proved to be an asset to my fall and winter wardrobe. I have a deep purple, which pairs well with many different things, as well as a light green, which I can wear into spring. My favorite, however, is my maroon pashmina. I had been searching high and low for a maroon scarf to wear to the last few Aggie football games, but to no avail. However, my parents came down to go to the last home game, and my mom surprised me with a maroon pashmina! It was the perfect addition to my gameday attire, and I look forward to wearing it next season, as well!

If you haven’t discovered your passion for pashminas, the time is now (they make excellent stocking stuffers). You can find them at any department store, including Dillard’s, Macy’s, and Stein Mart.

Another semester has come to an end- I made it! While I’m actually really happy to see this one go (my classes were just awful this round), I know that my time in college is rapidly dwindling. I was thinking this afternoon that I only have three more semesters to get my life together- terrifying. But for now, it’s Christmas break and I have no responsibilities but to blog and stay sassy, two of my greatest talents. I’m leaving to go home today (once my entire closet is packed and the refrigerator is cleaned out), and I can’t wait to see my family! Also, it’s my sister’s bachelorette party this weekend, so I’m definitely looking forward to that!

For now, I’ll show you my favorite pins of the week- I was quite active while trying to avoid studying.

First is this Natasha Couture ‘Deco’ Clutch from Nordstrom. I love the black and gold glamour- very reminiscent of Gatsby, which you know I’m obsessed with. This would be an excellent addition to a New Year’s look!

Next, I love this gift-wrapping idea from Craft and Creativity. One of my favorite parts about Christmas is wrapping everyone’s presents in new, creative ways, and I think I might try this approach. It’s simple, but still super cute!

If you know me, you know I have a very hard time getting my daily serving of vegetables. However, I’m dying to try this recipe for green bean crisps from Dan330. I mean, everything’s delicious if you fry it, right?

Last is this photo from one of my favorite movies, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Holly Golightly is definitely my spirit animal, and this is one of my favorite scenes. If you haven’t seen it, you should do so immediately.

As of right now, I’m supposed to be studying for my two finals on Tuesday. I’m not. I’ve decided to wait until panic sets in (which should have already happened). But anyways, the holidays are a busy time, with many parties and celebrations to attend. I love it, but it always stresses me out when I have to bring food, because I want to bring something homemade, but I don’t always have time for that! My mom shared this recipe with me over Thanksgiving, when I was telling her about how I had to bring a dish to a few different parties, and it basically changed my life as a party-goer. I’m now convinced that if you can make a cheese ball, you are prepared for many different scenarios that come your way.

This recipe is so easy it’s hilarious. Not only have I made it twice in the past week, but it took me less than five minutes each time! It’s great for a last minute party contribution, and is sure to be a hit!

You will need:

-1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened

-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

-1/2 packet Ranch dressing mix

-1 cup chopped pecans

Here’s what you do:

First, set out a square of plastic wrap, and pour the pecan pieces onto a plate. You’ll want to do this before your hands get cheesy! Next, mix together in a bowl the cream cheese, shredded cheese, and ranch dressing mix. The most effective way to do this is with your hands. Once everything is incorporated, shape it into a ball (it doesn’t have to be perfect, you can re-shape it later!). Next, roll the ball in the chopped pecans until it is coated completely. Then, place it onto the plastic wrap and wrap it up. Now you can shape it more if you need to! Refrigerate until you are ready to serve it, and serve with Ritz crackers (preferably the snowflake kind if it’s Christmas). Enjoy!

Everyone loves cheese, so everyone will love this! As a matter of fact, my roommates suggested I make them one as well, and since I had leftovers from my party, we are currently swimming in cheese at the Kastle. But it’s finals, so calories don’t count this week.

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About Me

I'm Kristen! I'm a Christ-following, Aggie girl with a love for anything monogrammed, tacos, a well put-together outfit, a delicious recipe, mornings with two cups of coffee, and cats. This little blog is my creative outlet, and I'm so happy you're here to share it with me!

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